Uncategorized – Page 12

Breaking an Israel Filter Bubble: My Conversation with an Israeli Settler

To what degree do you feel like you live in a bubble of people who are just like you? How often do you encounter people who challenge your assumptions, stretch your understanding?

In his article, “How 26 Tweets Broke My Filter Bubble,” B.J. May writes “I live in a small town in Middle America. My closest coworkers are all men, all heterosexual, all white.

I had never given this filter bubble much thought, really. But as I increased my consumption of Twitter to better keep up on tech topics, I began to feel uneasy. There were clearly lots of diverse voices in the industry. Women talked about the wage gap, about sexism in the workplace. Black developers posted highly upsetting accounts of bias. People all over my industry were sharing stories of injustice and hatred, of unfair treatment and outright abuse.

I struggled to make sense of it all. I didn’t feel like I had experienced or seen any of these terrible things.Continue reading

Creating Profound Connections

The leadership at RS takes our tagline, “creating profound connections” seriously. With close to 1200 families we are compelled to think about how we are living up to this vision whether it be in our relationships with one another, the opportunities we create, the community we strive to build and/or how we support one another throughout our lives. Below Marge Piercy shares her insights about how complex and intricate a process it is.

In our attempt to harness the power of technology in the 21st century to help us (along with all our other tools) achieve our vision, please look for 4 emails asking for your help in teaching us how we can be more effective in creating profound connections for every member of our community.

Thank you in advance for your help,
Catherine Fischer, Director of Community Engagement

Connections
By Marge Piercy

Connections are made slowly, sometimes they grow underground.
You cannot always tell by looking at what is happening
More than half a tree is spread out in the soil under your feet.
Penetrate quietly as the earthworm that blows no trumpet.
Fight persistently as the creeper that brings down the tree.
Spread like the squash plant that overruns the garden
Gnaw in the dark, and use the sun to make sugar.
Weave real connections, create real nodes, build real houses.
Live a life you can endure: make life that is loving.
Keep tangling and interweaving and taking more in, a thicket and bramble
wilderness to the outside but to us it is interconnected with rabbit runs and burrows and lairs.
This is how we are going to live for a long time: not always.
For every gardener knows that after the digging, after the planting, after the long season of tending and growth, the harvest comes.

Finding Access to Each Other: Jewish Disability Inclusion

Did you see or hear Stevie Wonder present an award at the Grammy broadcast last week? He opens the envelope. Then with everyone on the edge of their seats to hear the winner of that category, he turns his opened envelope towards the audience, to show us all the braille, as he chants with a smile, “You can’t read it; you can’t read braille, ah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!” And he takes another second to relish the moment when, he could access information, that the seeing-audience, could not. Stevie Wonder follows with the statement: “We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability.”

Does Stevie Wonder know that February was Jewish Disability Inclusion Awareness month? Perhaps not. Last month, designed to bring more awareness to disability inclusion in the Jewish community serves as a nice excuse to shed light on some challenges and opportunities we see in our spiritual life here at Rodeph Shalom.Continue reading

RS Women’s Heart Health Symposium

The RS Women hosted a Heart Health Symposium on February 7. A panel of experts shared their insights and fielded our questions. Here is a summary of the panel:

Rabbi Jill Maderer gave a spiritual welcome: No “shaming” here just support , education and advocacyJennifer Hudson Fight the Ladykiller–a powerful message in an introductory video..

Doctors Lillian Cohn, Internist and Nazanin Moghbeli, Women’s Cardiology Takeaways :

HEART DISEASE IS THE NUMBER ONE KILLER OF WOMEN
It is important to know your “numbers”: BP Hypertension a major risk factor. (It is advisable to ask for a second BP reading in office. While standing.)
NUMBERS TO KNOW: HDL (good) LDL (bad) Cholesterol,Triglycerides, Hemoglobin A-1 C if you have (or are at risk for) Diabetes, BMI for weight maintenance/ obesity prevention
KNOW YOUR FAMILY HISTORY to share with physician
BE SURE YOUR PHYSICIAN SHARES ALL YOUR NUMBERS WITH YOU
Comprehensive evaluation recommended every 3 years if healthy. But preferable every year.
Healthy Lifestyle/ Diet/Exercise/no Smoking mitigate risks!
Advisable to worry less about side effects of Rx Statins. Focus on cholesterol numbers and the benefits of statins.
Women’s arteries/vessels are smaller than men’s. Women at higher risk of stroke. Plaque is softer. More easily dislodged. (Men’s harder more calcified.)
Hearts of younger women believed to be protected by estrogen. However from menopause and beyond not so. HRT—hormone replacement therapy—is very much questionable post menopause and must be discussed thoroughly with physician.
Pregnant women with pre-eclampsia are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.
Symptoms of heart attack in women can be very different from men (ie back pain, nausea) or can be the same as men. (Chest pains, shortness of breath.)

Dr. Raina Merchant, Emergent Cardiology: “Staying Alive” CPR video: CRITICAL INTERVENTION FOR CARDIAC ARRESTS. TIMING LIMITED AND DIFFERENCE BTW LIFE AND DEATH.

CPR greatly simplified recently. No more mouth to mouth. Just call 911 and do chest compressions.
Portable AED at RS is at Mt Vernon stairs.
There is a science to “broken heart syndrome” has to do with imbalance in the parasympathetic nervous system. Can also explain how a surprise party can cause a heart attack.

Findings of recent studies on Depression as a risk factor are mixed, however panelist Dr Bill Uffner, psychiatrist, shared a powerful story about his rounds as a resident in the early 70’s with the renowned cardiologist, Dr Williamm Lykoff. None of Dr Lykoff’s residents then answered his question correctly: “What is the number one predictor of heart disease”. The correct answer was Depression!
Dramatic Psychosocial changes post attack greatly increase risk of depression. Compromises treatment/ recovery and successful outcomes.

Thank you to Betsy Fiebach for organizing the symposium and for the summary.

The National Museum of American Jewish History is offering free admission to all visitors throughout the month of February. Thanks to the support of an anonymous donor, the Museum will welcome all visitors to explore more than 360 years of American Jewish history. Not only will visitors be able to enjoy the entire core exhibition, but also they will also have a chance to see the original, iconic 1790 letter from George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, in which the nation’s first president proclaims “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance,” underscoring the new nation’s commitment to religious liberty and equality for people of all faiths.

Second Sunday
Family Activities

On Sunday, February 14 from 10 am to 3 pm join us for our Second Sunday Family Activities. In the spirit of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s One Book, One Philadelphia program, which promotes reading and literacy for all ages, families are invited to grab a book and relax on a couch or comfy chair, or to find a cozy spot in the galleries to read together. Families can also make creative bookmarks to take home and use when reading some of their own books!

NMAJH Celebrates Freedom with Free February

Presidents’ Day at NMAJH

Monday, February 15 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Celebrate Presidents’ Day at the Museum and explore how American leaders impacted history, American society, and the American Jewish community. Meet George Washington and examine his original letter written in 1790 to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, declaring the importance of religious freedom.Have fun with interactive story telling, and enjoy arts and crafts projects. Take history in your own hands!

No Shame, Just Support: Heart Health with RS Women

Are you one of those people who loves lists? To-do lists that live on temporary post-it notes, or bucket lists that endure in your mind?

Many parts of the Torah involve lists: lists of names in the generations of the Israelite family, lists of materials and measurements in the instructions for the design of the tabernacle, and in this week’s Torah portion, more lists. Parashat Mishpatim lists many laws that the Israelites need to keep in order to establish an ethical, healthy civilization.

As I age, I find my trips to the doctor and the articles that catch my eye involve more and more lists about keeping healthy. Lists of what to do: more steps, more sleep, more arch-support, more weight-bearing exercise, more meditation, more iron, more vegetables. Lists of what to avoid: smoking, sugar, saturated fat. Then there are the lists that change with the research of the day: soy? fish? complex carbs? I’m lucky–I am one of those people who appreciates lists.

But even for us list-lovers, healthy living can be an overwhelming task. I find there are two helpful motivators in my own healthy living, both of which are rooted in Jewish wisdom.

1) Life is sacred. God gave this body and this life to me and it is my sacred obligation — my mitzvah — to care for it. This does not mean I need to avoid the pleasure and celebration that comes with chocolate and other delights. But the sanctity of life does help to drive my sense of moderation. The highest mitzvah in Judaism is Pekuach nefesh, translated as, to save a life. But have you ever noticed, that translation is not precise? The Hebrew for life is chai, as in, l’chaim. But nefesh means soul. To save our life is to save our soul. While other faith traditions may focus on saving the soul in the afterlife, in Judaism, we focus on saving the soul–the life– in the here and now.

2) We are not alone. The connection of community offers support in many challenges, including the challenge of healthy living. When I learn about a new approach in yoga or a new healthy recipe, it’s a fun way to remember I am not alone in my efforts. This is not to say we judge each other. If I have been looking forward to celebrating with a doughnut, I do not want to have to do so in private. And if you smoke, the community is not here to judge you. We are just here to say, when you try to quit, we are behind you. No shame, just support.

Next week, Sun., Feb 7 at 10:30am (and yoga at 9:30am) RS Women will offer an important way for our community to deepen our understanding of women’s heart health. Thank you to Betsy Fiebach for leading this event, to Ellen Simons and the RS Women for sponsoring and to channel 3 medical reporter Stephanie Stahl for moderating! If you are a woman or if you know a woman, please join us in our effort to bear witness to the fact that life is sacred and that we are not alone.

Turning Fate into Destiny with A “Sabbath Lie”

Can you see what this image, created by Anya Ulinich (speaking Sunday at RS) depicts? A woman dressed in a business suit riding a Shabbat candle-fueled challah! The picture serves as an illustration for Susan Pashman’s column in the Jewish Forward, “My Big Sabbath Lie–And the Joy It Brought.

When Susan Pashman first became a single mother and sole wage-earner, she decided she needed to change careers in order to provide for her 2 sons. So she went to law school and then secured a position in a prestigious firm. That’s when she realized another problem: If she was going to work the expected 90-hour week, how would she find the time to provide a loving, caring home for her children? Just then, Susan witnessed another member of the firm’s incoming cohort, explain to the boss that he was an observant Jew, and needed to leave early on Fridays and stay home on Saturdays, in order to observe the Sabbath.

Ah-hah!Continue reading

Race and Privilege: A lot of things have changed, a lot of things have not!

Picture the scene: Thousands of African-Americans marching in the South for civil rights. Marching arm in arm, their voices raised in songs of protest. There are some white allies in the group as well. Even some Jews and some rabbis. They are carrying a Torah scroll, a symbol of the Jewish values that compel us to stand with our neighbors and to fight for racial justice and equality. Setting off from Selma, Alabama, they march together. Marching to end racial profiling, marching to end discriminatory voting practices, marching to end economic injustice, and marching to end inequality in our public schools. The year? No, I am not talking about the civil rights marches of 1965, but rather this very summer, 2015. 50 years on from the original march from Selma to Montgomery, we are still marching. To quote the rapper, Mos Def, “A lot of things have changed, a lot of things have not!” The NAACP, along with partners like the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, marched this summer from Selma to Montgomery; but they did not stop there – they kept marching all the way to Washington, DC. And they arrived today. Dubbed America’s Journey for Justice, thousands of activists travelled over 860 miles to continue the struggle for racial justice in America.

Just as the Jewish community was integral to the original civil rights movement of the 60’s, we must be present again today. Just as it was 50 years ago, racism and civil rights are still Jewish issues. A lot of things have changed, a lot of things have not!

Crowd Sourcing Sermon for August 28

What is the point of being in touch with our vulnerability, as Jews are pushed to do during the High Holy Day season?

Encountering the High Holy Day Prayer Book

On Rosh HaShanah it is written;

On the Fast of Yom Kippur it is sealed…

Who will live and who will die;

Who will reach the ripeness of age,

Who will be taken before their time;

Who by fire and who by water…

Who by earthquake and who by plague…

Who will rest and who will wander;

Who will be tranquil and who will be troubled…

I sat in shul for years reading these words before I realized the answer. The answer to each of these questions is “me.” Who will live and who will die? I will. Who at their end and who not at their end? Me. Like every human being, when I die it will be at the right time, and it will also be too soon. Fire, water, earthquake, plague? In my lifetime, I’ve been scorched and drowned, shaken and burdened, wandering and at rest, tranquil and troubled. That has been my life’s journey.

Of course I prefer to deflect this truth. I would much prefer to let the prayers talk about someone else, perhaps the fellow in the next row. It has taken a lifetime to reveal that defense as a lie. The prayer is not about someone else. It’s about me. It is a frightfully succinct summary of my existence. So now I read it again, but in the first person, and it makes me shiver.

I will live and I will die, at the right time and before my time,

I will wander but I might yet find rest,

I will be troubled but I may achieve tranquility.

This is the central truth of the High Holy Days. This is what makes them Yamin Nora’im, days of terror. We are vulnerable.

-Rabbi Edward Feinstein (page 206 Mishkan Hanefesh)